


Damn Yankees!

by raspberrycoffeecake



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ace Pitcher Ben, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Baseball, Alternate Universe - Sports, And Especially Fenway Park, Bad First Impressions, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Love Letter to Boston, Shortstop Rey, Sorry Not Sorry, The Yankees Are the Evil Empire, minor stormpilot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-01-16 05:57:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18515302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspberrycoffeecake/pseuds/raspberrycoffeecake
Summary: Rey, a talented young shortstop, is ecstatic when she is called up from the minors to play for the Boston Red Sox.  What she’s not so sure about is how she feels about Ben Solo, former star pitcher for the New York Yankees and now a disaster waiting to happen.





	1. Home vs Tampa Bay Rays

**Author's Note:**

> It’s finally happened. My love of baseball and my love of Reylo have combined to create this fic. And yes, in my world, women are totally playing professional baseball alongside the men and they are killing it. For folks who don’t know much about baseball, I’ll try to explain some of the terms and strange rules in the endnotes, but I’m not an expert, so please forgive any inaccuracies!

As she emerged from the warren of tunnels that led into the home team’s dugout, Rey caught her breath, still unable to believe this was real. Years of playing with the neighborhood kids in the park by the Old Colony projects, pretending the back fence was the Monster; working concessions here on long, hot summer days in high school; working her way through college ball at UMass and the minors still hadn’t prepared her for the feeling of walking into Fenway in a Red Sox uniform.

She relaxed when she saw Rose, who had played with her for a few months on the PawSox last year, waving to her and indicating an empty seat next to her on the bench. She could do this, Rey told herself. She could totally, totally do this.

Rose put an arm around Rey’s shoulder, a warm smile on her face. “I’m so glad you’re here! They called you up in a hurry, hm?”

“Yeah,” Rey replied vaguely, thinking of how just hours ago, she had already been warming up for an afternoon game when Leia, the general manager, had called her up with the news that the current shortstop had broken his arm in a motorcycle accident and would be out for at least a month. They had brought her up to Boston in a black SUV, and Rey had stared out the window as they moved slowly through the afternoon traffic up I-95, trying not to think too hard about the fact the she was actually going to be playing for the team she had been a fan of for as long as she could remember.

Rose had been catching for the Sox since spring training this year, and she had a formidable throwing arm, although she wasn’t much of a hitter. She was also a lovely person, as long as you weren’t trying to steal on her.

Rose smiled warmly. “Come on and meet our teammates. I’ve told them about you.”

Rey immediately took a liking to Finn, who was also a rookie, but had a powerful swing that was quickly making a name for him on the team. She already knew Paige, Rose’s older sister, who played left field and was a solid hitter, and she smiled at Kaydel, who had made some spectacular catches this season in right field.

But she thought her jaw would drop to the floor when Rose casually added, “And come meet Poe!”

Rey had first seen Poe Dameron play when he signed on from the Mariners four years ago, and on that cold night in late April, when she had been watching from the outfield bleachers, she had been so impressed by his legwork in center field, the grand slam he had hit in the fourth inning and - if she was being honest - his rugged good looks, she had immediately spent an entire week’s wages from the auto repair shop where she worked in Amherst on a jersey with his name and number on the back.

And now he was walking toward her, a big grin on his face. For a second, she thought she was going to faint.

“Rey Johnson, shortstop! Welcome to the Red Sox!” Poe enveloped her in an extremely friendly hug, and Rey felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

“Thank you,” she breathed out, as he pulled away.

Poe looked at her with playful curiosity. “Interesting accent. I thought Rose told me you were from Southie?”

Rey smiled and shrugged. People had been asking her that for as long as she could remember. “I think my parents were from England. I was raised in foster care near the Old Colony projects, but for some reason, the accent stuck.” She didn’t mention that one of the reasons it had stuck was because she watched as much British TV as she could, desperate to make sure they could recognize her when - if - they ever returned.

Poe looked at her for a moment, as if he were trying to decide whether it would be rude to ask any further questions, but she shrugged. Now that she had baseball, that part of her life seemed more distant now.

At that moment, her gaze shifted to the end of the bench, where a very tall man was sitting alone, rolling a baseball absently in his hand, looking as if he were deep in thought. Oh, shit, she realized suddenly, that’s Kylo Ren - no, Ben Solo.

Ben Solo had been an ace pitcher - for the Pirates at first, until he was snatched up by the Yankees in his third season. For some reason, the Yankees fans called him Kylo Ren - something about how fierce he was on the mound. And he was. His pitches were known to be completely unhittable.

But something had happened last season - not an injury, or anything like that, but something mental - and suddenly he just couldn’t get his pitches in the strike zone. Rey had been at a few Yankees-Sox games where Solo completely fell apart on the mound and had to be taken out in the second or third inning. Snoke, the Yankees’ manager, had eventually taken him out of the starting lineup, and this winter, they had dumped him altogether and he had ended up with the Red Sox. The Sox were hurting for good starting pitchers, which was why he was still a starter, but he was fifth in the rotation, and as often as not, had to be taken out of the game early.

Rey had never seen him up close, except on the Jumbotrons, and she was struck by how powerful he looked, even hunched over on the bench. He wasn’t wearing a cap, and his long black hair framed his rather angular face in a way that she found oddly intriguing. And she couldn’t help but notice how well he filled out his uniform.

Suddenly, Rey realized she had been staring, and looked away quickly, but not before Solo caught her eye and grimaced.

Poe put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t mind Solo. ” He shot Solo a dismissive glance and then said, loud enough for the pitcher to hear, “He seems to think being a jerk to everyone will magically improve his ERA.”

Rey looked back at Solo, and wondered if Poe’s comment had affected him at all. It seemed like he hadn’t even heard.

After shooting one last glance at Solo, Poe grabbed Rey’s hand again. “Come on, kid. Let’s get you out on the field before batting practice is over.”

***

Batting practice was usually a routine Rey fell into easily, getting into the rhythm of hitting balls that the pitching machine chucked at her, throwing her entire body into her hitting. But today she found herself shaking, unable to hit with the power she was used to. She had finally made it to the big leagues, her dream, and her damn nerves were going to ruin it.

Suddenly, she felt someone come up behind her, and turned to look, moving out of the path of the pitching machine as she did. She nearly lost her balance when she saw it was Leia Organa, the general manager.

Rey had seen Leia play at the first Red Sox game she had ever attended, as a little kid who jumped the turnstiles to ride the T here and snuck through the gates when the ticket-takers weren’t looking. She had wandered up and down the aisles and passageways, always straining to get a good view and avoid the notice of the ushers. And it had been Leia who had made the first spectacular hit in that game, her deceptively small arms surging with power to send the ball far into the outfield corner in a triple. In the next at-bat, Han Solo, left fielder and power hitter - and, eventually, Leia’s husband - had hit the ball over the Monster and tied up the game.

Leia was the first woman Rey had seen play, and in many ways, it was Leia who had inspired Rey to pursue professional baseball herself. And now the woman was watching Rey bat. It was absolutely terrifying.

For years, Rey had imagined what it might be like to meet Leia. She would gush about how much watching another woman play baseball meant to her, she would ask for her autograph. But that seemed out of place, now that Rey was working for the woman. Someone had turned the pitching machine off, and Rey dropped her arms, her wooden bat falling to the dirt beside home plate, her mouth falling open.

Luckily, Leia - who was surprisingly short - saved her from the awkward moment by sweeping Rey in to a hug and telling her in a low, rasping voice, “Welcome to the Red Sox, Johnson.”

And then, just as quickly, Leia was gone, and Rey was picking her bat up off the ground and the pitching machine was lobbing balls at her again. The only evidence Rey had that the moment had even occurred in the first place was the electric feeling on her arms and back where Leia Organa - Red Sox legend - had touched her.

***

They jogged out of the home dugout as one, as a single creature, as the fans roared and the music swelled into an energetic pop song. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Solo coming from the bullpen, Rose trailing behind him. There were no cheers for him, no chanting his name the way they used to do in Yankee Stadium - only anticipation. Everyone knew he was a loose cannon.

When she reached her position, beyond second base, she adjusted her glove and caught the ball Yolo Ziff sent to her from third, around the horn, a drill she had done thousands of times before, but never in front of such a large crowd, never in a Red Sox uniform. But she ignored that thought, and instead lost herself in the rhythm of the routine: catch, throw, catch, throw.

And then, before she was anywhere near ready, Solo had finished his warm up, the infielders had moved into position, and the first batter from the opposing team was up.

She had seen Ben Solo pitch before, but nothing compared to watching him up close. It was bizarre, watching his large frame moving gracefully, sending his fastball off the tip of his fingers and toward the plate, his leg swinging around to follow the momentum of his arm as he threw. It was odd, and it was mesmerizing.

It was also terrible.

As elegant as his motions were, he couldn’t get the ball in the strike zone. Pitches zoomed far to the right, far to the left, too far up, too far down. Rose nearly toppled over at one point, trying to catch for his wild, inconsistent pitching.

Four balls in a row for the first batter, and it was a walk. The park was eerily silent.

The second batter came up, and another walk. Shit, how had this man ever made it into the majors? He was truly awful.

She could see from the moment the ball left Solo’s glove that the batter was going to get a piece of the ball. As the bat swung down with a loud CRACK, Rey’s heart sank. The ball sailed over the infield, and Paige ran for it, but Rey knew Fenway like the back of her hand, and she knew there was no way this one would stay in the park.

And then it was up and over the Monster, and Rey would be surprised if it didn’t make a solid landing on Landsdowne Street.

As each of the three Rays jogged around the bases and disappeared into the dugout, Rey caught, through the stunned silence in the park, the sound of booing. The Sox fans were booing their own pitcher.

First inning, no outs, and the other team had already scored three runs? If the game continued this way, it would be hopeless.

But that was no way to play a game. Rey took a deep breath, readjusted her stance, and got ready to field whatever came her way. She was the shortstop, captain of the infield, and she was responsible for doing whatever she could to turn this disaster of an inning around.

Solo threw a few balls to Rose, warming himself up, and then prepared to face the next batter.

And it was the same thing. The man couldn’t get a single pitch into the strike zone. The batter didn’t even bother to swing at any of them, and before she knew it, he was trotting along to first base, pleased as pie. Rey felt ready to growl, out of utter frustration.

The fifth batter came up - the Rays’ designated hitter, a big guy. If Solo gave up another homer to this guy, then the game would be as good as over, before it had even begun.

The bat connected with the ball, but Rey could tell as it left the bat that, this time, it was heading into the infield. She had to make this play. She had to prevent this batter from getting on base.

The ball was going to be too far to her left, but that didn’t matter - this was what Rey was known for. She dove, trapped the ball in her glove before it could shoot off toward left field, and then, still kneeling, she sent it off as fast as she could to Finn, who was ready at second, and turned it into a neat double play.

And the crowd was cheering now. Two outs. They could do this. They could end this awful inning and stand a chance. She forced herself to climb to her feet again, and get ready for the next pitch.

As it turned out, the next pitch was a beautiful fly ball that went straight into Poe Dameron’s glove, and before Rey could even think, the team was jogging back to the dugout for their turn at bat.

As she passed him, Finn clapped her on the back. “Nice catch, Rey. If you hadn’t turned that double play…” He trailed off, as they passed Solo, who looked just as stormy as ever. She was tempted to scowl at him. Would serve him right for playing such amateurish ball.

Paige got on base, but they scored no runs in the first. Solo threw better in the second inning - only a single walk - but his pitches were still imprecise and wobbly. It was as if he had simply forgotten how to throw.

Rey came up to bat for the first time in the second inning, her cap shielding her eyes against the setting sun, preparing to face a major league pitcher for the first time. She felt her knees shaking as she held her bat, and she could have sworn the pitcher smirked at her as he wound up for the pitch. He could probably smell her fear.

Whoosh! The ball whizzed past Rey’s ear, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the umpire make the signal for a strike.

OK. She could do this. Two more strikes to go.

This time, as the pitcher wound up, Rey widened her stance, took a firmer grip on her bat and prepared to swing.

And she did swing. But the ball was nowhere near where she swung, and all she got was a big piece of air. Shit.

Third time. The pitcher was winding up again, and again, Rey swung, and again, all she got was air.

And she was walking back to the dugout, her shoulders slumped. Rey’s first major league at bat, and she had struck out. She hadn’t even managed to make contact with the ball. She hadn’t had such a lousy at bat since her first game for the UMass Minutemen her freshman year.

She slid onto the bench beside Rose, who had flied out to the shortstop in her at bat - at least she had gotten a decent slice of the ball - and who now draped her arm around Rey’s shoulders comfortingly as they watched Ziff hit several long fouls before flying out to center field. Rey studiously avoided looking at Solo.

***

As it turned out, the game wasn’t as much of a disaster as Rey had predicted. Solo managed to keep any more runs from scoring, and Chewie, who had been the team’s closer for as long as Rey could remember, threw a solid ninth inning. And somehow, despite Rey’s weak batting, her teammates managed to bat in four runs and take the lead.

It was a win, but somehow, it didn’t feel that way.

They lined up, as Rey had seen Sox do at every winning game she’d every attended, clapping hands and congratulating each other. But she noticed that, as soon as the required ritual had finished, Ben Solo high-tailed it into the locker rooms, avoiding teammates and press alike. She was surprised by the twinge of sympathy it elicited from her - the man certainly seemed like a complete asshole, but no one deserved to feel that lousy after a win.

“Ms. Johnson?”

Rey turned to see Jerry O’Brien standing beside her. Suddenly her heart was beating a million times a second. She had watched this man interview countless players on NESN over the years, and now, he wanted to interview her?

“That’s me,” she managed to squeak out, and immediately berated herself for sounding ridiculous.

He chuckled. “I heard you just got called up from Pawtucket this afternoon. Welcome to the team! Beautiful fielding out there today. Can I ask you a few questions?”

 

The Boston Globe, May 9th

Boston 4 - Tampa Bay 3

Ben Solo had another rough start tonight, saved only by solid hitting from teammates Poe Dameron and Paige Tico, and excellent fielding from newcomer Rey Johnson.

Solo gave up a three-run home run in the first inning, and looked ready to give up two more runs, when Johnson made an impressive catch and turned a smooth double play to end the inning. Johnson came up yesterday afternoon from the PawSox to replace shortstop Brian Sullivan, who broke his arm in a motorcycle accident and is expected to be out for the rest of the season.

Although Tampa Bay’s starter threw five perfect innings, in the sixth, left fielder Tico doubled to score right fielder Kaydel Ko Connix, and Dameron tied up the game with a two-run homer. And in the eighth inning, rookie Finn Adebayo hit a double into center field that allowed Dameron to score again. The Rays were unable to score any more runs off of Solo, and Boston’s bullpen held them at bay for the rest of the game.

Boston’s hitting continues to keep the team neck-and-neck with the Yankees at the top of the division standings, and Johnson has made a promising debut for the team’s defense, but with inconsistent pitching from the starters, including Solo, the team still is at serious risk of falling behind and losing this year’s division title to the Evil Empire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A (really basic) beginner’s guide to baseball!_
> 
> _A baseball game is made up of 9 innings. In each inning, the defending team, led by the pitcher, needs to get 3 outs in order to end the inning. You can get an out by striking out a batter (1, 2, 3 strikes, you’re out!) or by fielding the ball (catching it in the air, tagging the runner with it, etc.)_
> 
> _**Walking a batter:** Pitchers need to throw pitches into the strike zone (an area around the batter that they can reasonably hit) in order to strike batters out. If a pitcher throws four balls (pitches that are outside the strike zone), then the batter is walked, or sent to first base for free._
> 
> _**Double play:** When the defending team gets two runners out at once, resulting in two outs._


	2. Home vs. Texas Rangers

Poe Dameron’s condo was nice. He was on the second floor of one of those huge brownstones in the Back Bay, and everything was new and shiny and beautiful, from the floors to the countertops to the sinks in the bathrooms. It was only a couple of miles from where Rey grew up, but the contrast to the dingy, old apartment where she had lived in the projects couldn’t be more dramatic.

It made sense, of course. He was pulling in millions every year, from one of the most lucrative contracts in major league baseball.But as a child, Rey could never, even in her wildest dreams, have imagined that she’d someday have a reason to visit a place like this.

“Hey, Rey!” Poe stood at the door with a big, orange cat in his arms, and gave her a one-handed hug. “People are inside. This is BB8.”

Rey stuck her hand out to pat BB8’s head, and he leaned into her palm with the loudest, most insistent meow she had ever heard. She had to laugh. “Poe, I think your cat thinks he’s a dog.”

Finn came up behind Poe and put a casual hand on his shoulder. “It’s because Poe’s so friendly. No one, man or beast, can be around him without it catching on.”

“Hey.” Poe covered Finn’s hand on his shoulder with his own, and turned his brilliant smile on Finn, and Rey suddenly found herself feeling like she was intruding on a private moment. She turned to move into the party - and caught sight of Solo, scowling in the corner.

“Looks like Solo can,” she remarked, not sure whether she felt scornful or just sorry for the man. At his latest start yesterday, against the Rangers, he had given up five runs in the first three innings, and the team hadn’t been able to recover the deficit. Walking disaster, O’Brien had called him in his latest column.

“Why do you bother to invite him?” Finn was asking behind her. “And why does he come, if he’s just gonna stand in the corner and brood?”

Poe shrugged, a lopsided smile still aimed at Finn. “The guy needs a little love in his life. People to care about him, even when he’s pitching terribly. I don’t mind a little brooding if it might get him pitching better. As for why he came tonight: Who knows?”

She spared one more glance for Solo, and went to join Rose, Paige, and Kaydel where they were waving at her from one of the large, plush couches in the living room.

***

Rey left the party early - not because she wasn’t enjoying herself, but because the pressures of the last week had been so much, that by eleven, all she wanted to do was return to the studio she was renting in Southie and sleep.

She could have chosen to take an Uber home, but the idea of not needing to save up every penny to survive and make her monthly student loan payments was so new, and with the way she’d been hitting - i.e. not at all - she knew they could send her back down to Pawtucket any time.  So, all things considered, she headed for the T instead.

She cut through an alley that she knew would bring her to Newbury Street and toward the Red Line - and home. It was quiet in this part of town, not the noise of people bar-hopping that would inevitably greet her when she got back to Southie. It felt like she was in a parallel universe, a city drastically different from her own familiar one.

And then harsh words split the quiet. “Fucking pussy, can’t even throw a ball straight.”

Another voice. They were in the alley with Rey, maybe ten paces ahead. “They should throw your ass back to the minors, where you belong.”

A third voice. Shit, that was a lot of people. “The only reason a cunt like you is on the team is because Mommy won’t let you retire like you should.”

The opposite end of the alley, the one she came from, was close. She could still turn around, avoid a confrontation, stay out of this and save her own hide.

But she didn’t grow up brawling in Southie for nothing.She could easily guess who the object of the abuse was, and even though he’d been nothing but a dick to her so far, she was not going to let this stand.

She stepped forward, to find Ben Solo pinned against the wall, glowering, as three rather large men shouted at him.

She worked to keep her voice low and even. The second you revealed you’re upset in a situation like this, that’s when you lost your power. “Get away from him.”

As one, all four men turned toward her, Ben’s attackers examining her with curiosity, Ben himself looking furious.

One of them stepped forward. “No one asked your opinion.”

Another poked the third one in the ribs and loudly whispered, “That’s Johnson, the replacement shortstop. The one who can’t hit for shit.”

The man in front chuckled. “So here we have a shit batter defending a shit pitcher. What a pathetic sight.”

Ben’s voice was barely more than a growl. “I can handle my own shit, Johnson. Get out of here.”

She shook her head. She was involved now. She was going to see this through, even if he didn’t want her help.

She took another step forward, and it hit her: a wave of Alpha pheromones, powerful and angry. Ben was going to lose it on these guys if she didn’t get him out of there. Fast.

Without a word, she grabbed Ben’s handand pulled him with her down the alley, toward the lights and traffic of Newbury Street, away from the confrontation. She tried to ignore the warmth of his hand in hers, how solid and good and _Alpha_ it felt, and basically dragged him out onto the street.

Where he promptly let go of her hand and snapped, “Fuck you, Johnson, I didn’t ask for your help back there. Now the whole fucking city will think I’m weak.”

She was not just going to stand there and take it. “The whole city already thinks you’re a basket case! You want Leia to have to pull you from the rotation because you couldn’t hold your temper and got into a fight?”

“If I want to fight, Johnson, it’s my own business.”

She shook her head. “No, Solo. You play on a team. It’s all of our business. And terribly as you’ve been pitching, I’d rather have you on the roster than off it because you got hurt brawling.”

And then, because she couldn’t allow herself to get involved, and she definitely couldn’t stay around those pheromones for much longer without losing her mind, she turned and walked away.

***

It was Tuesday night, but Rey’s favorite sports bar on Broadway had a decent crowd gathered, most of them there to watch the Bruins in the playoffs.Before she had even sat down at the bar, the bartender brought her a Harpoon, and Rey soaked in the familiar atmosphere she loved.She wasn’t quite enough of a hockey fan to shout at the TV like some of the jersey-wearing fans at the other end of the bar were, but she enjoyed it enough to relax into watching the game and let it take away some of her stress - at least as well as anything could, given how poorly she hit had last night.

“Hey gorgeous.”

Rey didn’t turn around at first, hoping whoever this was might get the hint. The regulars knew her well enough, from when she bartended here summers in college, and now, with her more recent return to Boston, and she knew they wouldn’t bother her. This could only be a newcomer.

“Hey, what’re you drinking?”

Wishful thinking, that ignoring him might do the trick.Apparently this loser wouldn’t leave her alone until she talked to him.Best to take the direct approach, then.

“I’m not interested. I’m just here to relax and enjoy the game.”

The guy smirked and Rey grimaced. He apparently hadn’t taken her - rather clear - hint. “I bet I could make you interested, beautiful.”

She tried being polite one more time. No reason to take off the gloves until he forced her to. “I don’t think so. I’d like you to leave me alone so I can watch the game in peace, please.”

The stranger opened his mouth to reply, his face betraying some impatience now, when another, deeper voice interrupted, “She said she’s not interested. Leave her alone.”

The man looked up at the newcomer and laughed. “Ben Fucking Solo, failure of the year? What, you want her? You know what, you can have her. You two deserve each other. Congrats.”

The stranger stood up and moved away.

Slowly, Rey turned to look at Ben. She wasn’t sure whether to be angry or relieved, so she settled on studiously neutral. “I could have handled him, you know.”

Was that…a smile? On Ben Solo’s face? She must be hallucinating. “I know,” he replied, and she tried to ignore what the low tones of his voice were doing to her. She was not into Ben fucking Solo, walking disaster. “But I don’t want Leia to have to pull you from the rotation because you got hurt brawling.”

To her horror, she felt herself turning pink as he parroted back her words from the other night.Bastard.She chose to change the subject to something safer.“Why are you here?”

He looked away. “Rose told me that you’d probably be here. I wanted to apologize. I acted like a dick the other night.”

She was tempted to tell him _yes, you did_ , but he seemed honestly contrite about it, so she chose not to rib him further.

So instead, she smiled at him. “Well, Solo, welcome to Southie. Sit down and have a drink."

***

Another awful game for Rey, offensively. Two strikeouts, one ground ball to second, one pathetic thing that barely counted as a fly ball, straight to right field.

And tomorrow, they would depart on Rey’s first series on the road. If her hitting continued to suck as much as it did now, there was no way Leia would keep her on the team. They’d call someone else up from the minors, or make a costly trade for a shortstop who could actually hit, and that would be that.

She walked out onto the deserted field, the lights still illuminated as the grounds crew made their rounds and cleaned up after the evening’s game.What was keeping her from hitting?She had been batting almost .300 with Pawtucket - why had her game gone down the tubes?

Automatically, without enthusiasm behind her movements, she dragged a pitching machine over to the mound, set it up, and turned it on.This was how she had solved things in the past - hit things until she couldn’t hit anymore, worked up a sweat, worked beyond what anyone else expected of her, and outpaced the rest.Drove herself into the ground, trying to be the best.

She moved behind home plate to hit the balls the machine would fling at her.

Still nothing.However much she swung at the ball, her bat made no contact. 

She kept hitting, hopelessly, desperately, a knot forming in her throat.  This whole thing was nothing but useless.  Here she was in the majors, and her dreams would never come true because she couldn’t just fucking get over whatever her problem was and hit.

Suddenly, the pitching machine turned off. Ben Solo was looking at her from across the mound.

“Can I…?” he trailed off, tossing a ball in one hand, holding his glove in the other. She wasn’t sure whether he was offering because he thought she needed this, or because he did, but she didn’t care. She nodded.

He moved the pitching machine out of the way, and wound up. She got into her batting stance.

The moment the ball left his hand, she knew exactly where it was going, and something clicked that hadn’t clicked since she left Pawtucket.Something that had felt wrong for two straight weeks felt right again.

She made contact.SMACK!Long fly ball to center field.Farther than she’d ever gotten it, here in Fenway.

He pitched again, and again she hit it - this time, with enough force to send it up and over the Monster.

A third pitch. Long fly ball to right field.

And another. And another. And another.

She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she was trying to help him,that allowed her to break through this mental block, or if it was the rhythm they were getting into together, but it just felt _right_ and _good_ and like she was playing real baseball again.

But it couldn’t last. He ran out of balls, and that was that. He had another start the next day; he couldn’t be out playing into all hours of the night. With a final nod in her direction, he walked off toward the dugout, and into the night.

 

From The Boston Globe, May 16

Starter Ben Solo’s troubles continue.  The Red Sox have had a shaky start this season, with solid hitting and poor defense, and this trend looks unlikely to end anytime soon.  And with a 1-4 record, Ben Solo is clearly the weak link in the chain.  We can only wonder how much longer Manager Leia Organa will keep him on the roster.

Newcomer Rey Johnson is struggling, too, with no hits yet in twenty at-bats.She’s strong defensively, but a team with this many issues can’t afford such a weak hitter, even at the bottom of their batting order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love hearing from fellow Reylo/baseball fans in the comments! (also people who aren't as into baseball but still like Reylo, that's cool too <3)
> 
> _Quick note about the ABO stuff: It's not going to be a major part of this fic, but I realized that this was either going to be a MASSIVELY slow burn or I needed to have some kind of...ahem...outside force pushing our two lovebirds together. And since it was hard for me to picture BOTH of them getting drunk enough to have a one-night stand in this particular context, ABO it was. It will be mentioned occasionally, but it will only be a major plot point of one chapter, which I'll mark, in case you're not into ABO and want to avoid it._


	3. Away vs. Chicago White Sox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: SO MUCH 80's music ahead.

As Rose politely handed her batting helmet and gloves to the waiting kid and jogged to first, Rey felt her stomach drop. Here we go, she thought. Last game of this away series. Possibly her last chance to show that she belonged in the majors.

And the team was counting on her now, too. Boston was behind, nothing to three, thanks to Ben’s disastrous second inning. Rey felt a twinge of guilt at that thought. Now that she was working with him nearly every day and could see the torture he put himself through every time he screwed up, it became harder to deride him. In a way, their struggles weren’t all that different.

Although, she thought bitterly, he had a whole lot more room to screw up than she did. Benefits of your mom being the manager.

Rose gave her an encouraging thumbs-up from first. Maybe that walk the opposing pitcher just gave up would throw him enough to allow her to get in a hit?

She felt sweat build up inside her batting gloves as she gripped the wooden bat tightly, falling into her stance. She tried to capture the feeling she got when, in their unspoken agreement, she and Ben would meet out on the field after a game and he would throw to her - that rhythm, that connection, that overwhelming sense of rightness.

The pitcher wound up, and Rey closed her eyes for a second, centering herself.

And the ball whizzed past her into the catcher’s mitt. She could see the umpire call the strike out of the corner of her eye. Two more chances.

Then another wind-up.Another agonizing moment, waiting to see whether the ball would come close enough… and another strike. 

You can do this, Rey told herself.If this was her last at-bat in a major league game, then she needed to go out swinging.

And that’s when it clicked. As the pitcher prepared to throw a third time, Rey realized she knew exactly where the ball was going to go, before it even left his hand. His muscles told the story, just like Ben’s did, when they practiced together. And she swung for all she was worth.

CRACK! Rey knew she had made contact, she knew it was fair, and she didn’t stop to see where the ball was going - she just took off down the base path. The first base coach waved her on, his arms moving in wide motions, clear even to her dazed vision, so she touched the base with the edge of her foot and continued on toward second.

And she could see the ball coming in from the outfield, so she gave her run just a little more power for that final push, and slid into the base just as the second baseman crouched to receive the ball.

A double. Her first hit in the majors, and it was a double. She looked for Rose, and she found herself confused when she couldn’t spot the catcher at third. Had her friend been thrown out? But no, the ball had been heading toward her from the outfield, not from third…

Then she saw Rose waving happily at her from behind the dugout fence, and caught sight of the scoreboard. Boston 1, Chicago 3.

Holy shit. She had just gotten her first RBI in the majors. Holy fucking shit.

Her heart was beating faster now. Even though she had done this a million times - stood on second base and watched what the batter was doing, waited for her chance, now the stakes were higher, and her days playing Little League seemed like a thousand years ago.

They were back at the top of the batting order, and Rey almost thought she could see Kaydel wink at her from where she was taking a couple of warm-up swings behind the plate.

The pitcher was clearly shaken up, and after a couple of balls that went wide, Kaydel spotted a ball that was in range and smacked it into the center-field stands.

The crowd fell quiet, but Rey’s heart was beating loudly enough to drown out anything else as she jogged around to third and then crossed home plate. Her first run in the majors.

Poe stood at the entrance to the dugout, a wide grin on his face as he gave her a slap on the back, then moved behind her to take Kaydel’s batting helmet. Finn was right behind Poe, and he gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek as she descended the steps into the dugout.

Then Leia patted her on the back, and croaked, “Nice work, kid.”

And that should have been the highlight of that moment for Rey, but it wasn’t, because in the next second, she locked eyes with Ben, sitting alone at the end of the bench, and he smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. And she knew, right then and there, that she would never forget that smile, for as long as she lived.

***

The high from the third inning lasted until the fifth, when Ben had another meltdown, walking three batters in a row, and then giving up a hit that scored two runners.

With Boston behind again and further damage imminent, Leia pulled Ben and put in Tallie Lintra, one of the team’s more reliable relievers, to try to salvage the situation.

Watching Leia come out to the mound and give Ben a half-hearted pat on the back, Rey felt another pang of sadness for him. Which was weird. She shouldn’t be worrying about him - she had her own issues to deal with. One hit, however exhilarating, would not guarantee her spot on the roster.

But when he turned briefly so he was facing her, where she was positioned between second and third, and she caught sight of his expression, all she could think of was pulling him into her arms and comforting him. 

She shook away the thought. That kind of sentimentality had no place in major league baseball.

Tallie jogged in from the bullpen, and she and Rose went through their warm up routine. Rey didn’t envy Tallie the job of having to clean up the mess Ben had left her, but then again, as a relief pitcher, this was what she did.

Chicago’s next batter stepped up, and Tallie got a couple of strikes in before the batter got a piece of the ball and sent it zooming… right into Rey’s waiting glove.

She inhaled deeply before sending it straight to Ziff at third. This was it, this was the game she loved, this was her lifeblood. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect set-up for a double play.

And so there were two outs. Only the runner left at first. And as she prepared to field again, the batter sent the ball high up into the air, and it curved downward, straight into Paige’s waiting glove, ending the inning.

When she came in from the field, Rey didn’t try to look for Ben in the dugout. She already knew he’d be in the bowels of the stadium, throwing or lifting weights or doing whatever other self-destructive thing he tended to do when he was angry at himself. She supposed it was unlikely that she would see him again that night.

***

But, as it turned out, Rey would be proven wrong.

After Finn hit a two-run homer in the sixth that tied up the game, and Snap Wexley’s solo homer in the eighth handed them the win, Poe insisted that everyone go out for a drink. And saying no to Poe when he was in a victorious mood was not an option.

The bar he found near the stadium was noisy and crowded, and Rey hadn’t brought any going-out clothes with her to Chicago, so there she was, in jeans and an old Pats jersey, sitting at the bar between Paige and Rose, sipping a PBR.

And she was surprised to find that it was nice. It wasn’t her bar in Southie, but the atmosphere was lively, and the company was good. Before she knew it, Rey had gone through three beers and was feeling a pleasant, relaxed buzz.

The bar had one of those new-retro digital jukeboxes in the corner, and after they had been sitting around for a while, Rey spotted Poe push Finn over in that direction, both of them laughing. She watched Finn fumble in his pocket for a quarter, and flip through the selections. Rey was curious - she hadn’t known Finn long enough to know what his go-to dance music was.

So when “Take On Me” came on the speakers, she practically dragged Paige and Rose with her onto the crowded dance floor. Good choice, Finn, she found herself thinking with a smile. Kaydel came over from somewhere to join their little circle and they held hands, pumping their fists in the air and screeching out the high notes when it was time.

This was what she had needed. To release all that tension she had built up over weeks of failures at the plate. To celebrate her first hit, and desperately hope for more.

This time, it was Poe’s turn to pick the song, and Rey chuckled when the first strains of “Holding Out For a Hero” came on.If their shared love for 80’s music was any indication, then he and Finn were made for each other.The two men joined their circle, and Rey couldn’t help but notice the looks they exchanged, even in a crowded bar.She turned to Rose and raised an eyebrow, and Rose winked back.Apparently, whatever was going on between them wasn’t quite as secret as perhaps they thought it was.

Rey only noticed that Finn had slipped away again when she heard the tempo of the music slow down.Kaydel groaned, and Rose shot her a meaningful look - Finn had already returned to the dance floor and cozied up to Poe, the two of them now looking nauseatingly adorable.If these two dorks really wanted to carry on a flirtation in the middle of a crowded bar, then what better song to put on than “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” that middle-school slow-dance classic?

“I’m gonna go get another drink,” Rose shouted in Rey’s ear, and she thought she could hear the grimace in her friend’s voice.This wasn’t exactly a song for energetic group dances, although presumably there would be another opportunity for that soon.

Rey nodded, and she had turned to follow Rose to the bar when she felt a large, warm hand on her elbow.She could feel Ben’s breath tickle her ear as he murmured in his deliciously low voice, “Mind if I join you, Johnson?”

And God, did she not mind at _all_. She leaned back into his touch as he tentatively placed his hands on her hips and swayed awkwardly behind her, at least a few inches still separating their bodies. She rested her hands on top of his, and closed her eyes.

For the first minute or so, all she could think of was how good this felt. How the warmth of his hands felt on her waist, how his delicious Alpha smell was seeping into every pore in her body.

But then her brain flicked on again. Why had he come up to her, to dance with her? She could smell a faint undertone of beer whenever he breathed close to her cheek, but it wasn’t overwhelming, and his controlled movements certainly didn’t scream _drunk_. She glanced around, and saw no one seemed to be paying them much attention, but it was still a risk, to come up to her like this, with all of their teammates around.

Was it possible…? She spun around in his arms, slowly enough that she wouldn’t scare him, and then they were face-to-face. A full foot in between their bodies now, his hands on her waist as she placed hers carefully on his shoulders, but still. This was closer than they had ever been to one another. His eyebrows rose slightly as he looked at her, questioning.

She had to know. She couldn’t go back to her hotel room tonight not knowing.

So she stood up on her toes, closing the distance between them. Slid her hands up to frame his face, feeling the stubble along his chin. Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she pressed a quick, soft kiss to his lips.

She pulled away to look at him. His face was utterly blank and unreadable. She felt her stomach sink.

Suddenly, he lowered his mouth to her ear. “What the fuck are you doing, Johnson?” There was no malice in his tone, just tension, and something else she couldn’t identify.

But she was not going to leave feeling ashamed of herself. No way. She stepped back, the sounds of the song still playing in the background, and replied, “Making a mistake, clearly.”

Then, without looking back at him again, she turned and walked over to where her friends were sitting. If Ben Solo didn’t have the balls to accept what she had just offered him, then she wouldn’t spend another minute thinking about him.

 

The Boston Globe, May 21

Boston 6, Chicago 5

The Red Sox squeaked by with another win last night in Chicago against the White Sox. This game saw shortstop Rey Johnson’s first hit, RBI, and run since she was called up from Pawtucket two weeks ago. Depending on how her next few games go, perhaps she won’t be sent back to the minors with her tail between her legs, after all.

We also saw more of the reliable hitting we’re used to from outfielders Kaydel Ko Connix and Poe Dameron, as well as infielders Finn Adebayo and Snap Wexley. Reliever Tallie Lintra showed off her remarkable talents again tonight when, after starter Ben Solo loaded the bases and gave up two runs, she threw into a double play and an easy fly ball to left field that ended the inning.

Solo is fortunate that his teammates were able to recover from the sticky situation he put them in, but with an ERA currently at 6.15, we continue to wonder how much longer Manager Leia Organa will keep him in the starting rotation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RBI (Runs Batted In): Whenever a player gets a hit that allows another player (who was already on base) to score, they get an RBI. It doesn't affect the score of the game; it's just a statistic that people who follow baseball often track.


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